The Next Generation
by starbird-16
Summary: Takes place two years after Jedi Night. The now 20-year-old Ezra finds a new purpose in life after the freeing of Lothal when he reluctantly takes on an apprentice of his own.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place about 2 years after "Jedi Night," an episode from the 4th season of Star Wars Rebels (which means Ezra is approximately 20 years old at this point). Do not read if you haven't seen the episode yet, because this fic contains MAJOR spoilers (we're talkin'** _ **Darth Vader is Luke's Father**_ **level spoilers here!) So, enjoy! :)**

 **P.S. That's not a request!**

 **P.P.S. You read that in the Beast's voice, didn't you?**

Chapter 1: The Cave

Ezra Bridger tentatively clutched the lightsaber in his hand as he made his way through the valleys of Lothal. He was headed towards the cave that the rebels had briefly called home, back in the days of the Empire. Ezra knew he was close when the cave's musty smell wafted into his nostrils. The darkness of the cave gave way to a blue glow as Ezra ignited Kanan's lightsaber.

"So, the rumors are true. You really did find the lost saber."

Ezra turned around, startled, to see Sabine walk into the cave behind him.

"Yeah, I did, along with the rest of Thrawn's junk. What does it matter?"

Sabine walked up closer to Ezra, and they both sat down against the wall with the mysterious cave paintings. For a while, neither of them said anything; each one just enjoyed the other's company. Finally, Ezra asked, "How did you know I was going to be here?"

Sabine gave Ezra a look before replying, "Well, first of all, you own a calendar. I know you know exactly two years ago, you and Kanan were in this very spot, planning your rescue mission for Hera."

Ezra winced when Sabine said Kanan's name; the memory of losing his master was still painful for him.

"Second of all, I heard from a reliable source that after the Empire fell, your first mission that you took upon yourself was to track down Kanan's lightsaber that Rukh stole. I figured once you had found it, where else would you take it?"

"All right, good point," Ezra conceded, "but for the record… Chopper is _not_ a 'reliable source.' He's a metal menace who can't keep a secret."

Sabine smiled at that. The two young adults stayed in the cave together until nightfall, when Ezra politely asked to be alone. Sabine begrudgingly agreed, flying away with her jetpack towards the newly established Capital City, governed once again by Ryder Azadi. Ezra sat watching the moons set and marveled how much Lothal had already improved since the Empire's factories had shut down. The skies were not clear yet, but with time, the atmosphere, along with the rest of the planet, would heal. Ezra thought, _maybe with time I can heal too._ And with that thought, he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the huge delay! I got really busy, but now that summer is here, I have more time to write. Anyways, I have decided that I want to write the rest of this whole story before I publish it, just so I can make last-minute changes if I want to. I am still working on it, but after this chapter I may not publish for a while. So sorry to anyone who is still reading!**

 **Okay, I also thought that I'd clear up my confusing timeline for this story. In my version, the Empire is still in control of the galaxy because Return of the Jedi will not take place for about 3 more years. However, Lothal itself is free of the Empire's grasp thanks to the heroics of the Ghost crew and others.**

 **Now, on with the story :)**

Chapter 2: The Dream

That night, Ezra dreamed the same thing he had been dreaming for the past week.

 _Ezra once again found himself sitting dejectedly on the ramp of the Ghost after a hard mission. He had begun that day hoping to rescue the famous Jedi Luminara Unduli. Now he knew she really was gone. Meeting the horrible creature who called himself the Inquisitor wasn't fun either. But worst of all, Ezra dreaded the conversation that he would have to eventually have with Kanan. He knew he had to let Kanan off the hook now that Luminara was out of the picture, but it still hurt. Without meaning to, Ezra had grown close to his new master, and to see him go was almost too much to bear. But deep down, Ezra knew that the apprenticeship would never work if Kanan's heart was not in this. And every outward sign told Ezra that Kanan had just been looking to dump him on Luminara so he wouldn't have to deal with him personally._

 _Without looking up, Ezra heard Kanan's soft footsteps come near as he joined him on the ramp of the Ghost._ Well, time to get this conversation over with, _Ezra thought. "Look, don't bother saying it. I'm letting you off the hook."_

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _I know you wanted to dump me on Luminara, but just 'cause she's gone doesn't mean you're stuck with me."_

" _I don't want to 'dump you'…" Kanan paused and sighed deeply. "Look, I just wanted you to have the best teacher."_

 _Ezra quickly shot off, "Well I don't want the best teacher. I want you!" He then winced as he realized what his statement implied. "Not that you're not the best, I-"_

" _Ezra," Kanan interrupted, "I'm not gonna try to teach you anymore."_

 _Ezra looked down, disappointed and hurt. But then Kanan continued, "If all I do is try, that means I don't truly believe that I can succeed. So from now on, I will teach you. I may fail, you may fail, but there is no try."_

" _I understand… Master."_

" _Let's see if you do."_

 _That day, training with Kanan, had been one of the best of Ezra's life. Even in the worst of times, when Ezra felt like a failure for being so susceptible to the dark side, he remembered that Kanan truly did care. Not only that, but Kanan believed in him, more than Ezra believed in himself. It was one of the things that Ezra missed most about Kanan being gone…_

 _Suddenly the dream changed, and Ezra was no longer his fourteen year old self standing near the ramp of the Ghost. He immediately recognized his new surroundings; he was still on Lothal. It was a spot he had been to only once before, when he had interacted with the Loth-wolf known as Dume. As if on cue, Dume the wolf stepped out from behind a boulder. Part of Ezra knew that he was still dreaming, but it was still unsettling nonetheless._

 _Slowly, and with reverence, Dume began to speak. "Pass on… what you have learned."_

 _Ezra was so used to this Loth-wolf being secretive and incripting that he almost missed the simplicity of the statement. "What I've learned? I'm pretty sure that course could be covered in less than a day."_

 _Dume simply stared at Ezra until he corrected himself. "Alright, alright, I know I've learned a lot in the past 6 years or so. But me passing it on to someone else? I don't think I would make a very capable teacher. I mean, have you met me?"_

 _Dume began to speak once again. "Accept… your destiny. Prepare the next generation. Pass on… what you have learned."_

 _Suddenly, Ezra's ears were filled with a distinct beeping noise. He was sure that he had heard it before and knew what it meant, but his dreaming self couldn't quite place it. Ezra glanced over to where Dume had just been standing, but the Loth-wolf was gone now. The beeping got louder and louder until Ezra woke with a start._

Ezra nearly hit his head on the cave's low ceiling as he snapped into an upright position. He then realized that the beeping noise he heard in his dream was nothing more than his comm going off. He begrudgingly reached at his side until he found his comm-link and brought it up to his ears and mouth. Ezra struggled to suppress a yawn before answering it. "Wha- Hello? This is Spectre 6."

Ezra heard someone sigh heavily on the other side of the line before responding. "Finally! I've been trying to reach you for the past ten minutes! This is Spectre 2. We have an emergency."

Ezra could tell that something was very wrong by the way Hera had spoken; she wasn't normally so impatient with calls. "What's the emergency?"

"A distress signal was just picked up from a transport heading to Christophsis. They were about to land on Lothal to refuel when their ship was attacked."

"Attacked? By the Empire?" Ezra knew Lothal was now out of the Empire's reach, but he wouldn't put it past them to cause trouble through isolated raids.

"We don't know. Ezra, most of the Ghost crew, and the Rebellion for that matter, are light years away. Only you and Sabine are close enough to help. We need you to take a ship and evacuate the passengers on the transport. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

"Coordinates received, Spectre 2. Spectre 5 and I will head out immediately."

"Spectre 6, there's one more thing you need to know before you leave. The transport that was just attacked is a private vessel that belongs to the ICWL."

"Umm… okay. Got it."

"Ezra, ICWL stands for Intergalactic Child Welfare League. That transport is carrying minors!"

Ezra, who now truly recognized the gravity of the situation, all but sprinted to his ship _The Escape._ He probably set a new speed record on Lothal on his way to Capital City to get Sabine. When he finally spotted her in one of the markets, he popped open the hatch and shouted, "Get in the ship! No time to explain!"

Once they were both in the cockpit, Ezra gunned the engines and headed for the atmosphere. Still startled and confused, Sabine asked, "Where are we going?"

Ezra determinedly answered, "To save some kids."

 **Haha! Cliffhanger! I know, I'm sorry (not really). This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and it was longer than the first one… hopefully that's a good thing ;)**

 **In case you didn't know,** _ **The Escape**_ **was Kanan's first ship back when he was a teenager/ young adult, before meeting Hera. It was introduced in the comics about Kanan's backstory (which every SWR fan needs to read!) In my story, I thought it would be fun to have Ezra inherit the ship. Well, that's all for a while. If you still have questions about how my story fits into the SW timeline, feel free to comment or PM me.**


End file.
